Toronto Raptors

My brothers and I ended up in the same room Tuesday as we met up at my mom's for Christmas dinner. Many topics were passionately discussed, but the one that caused the biggest uproar was Toronto Raptor Andrea Bargnani.

With an embedded photographer in the room, a great deal of this debate was captured. In a nutshell, my brother Ryan is somewhat blinded by the Fantasy Sports value of a player and gets that confused with the real-game value of a player. Apparently, he really likes Andrea Bargnani's numbers and considers him an asset. Meanwhile, Steve and I are ready to ship him out of town for a couple of basketballs and consider him an overrated disappointment.

Here's Ryan emphatically telling me Bargnani should yield a first round pick in a trade.

Here's my brother Steve and I trying to decide which course of logic to follow first.

As a courtesy, we heard him out, of course.

At some point, Ryan compared Andrea Bargnani to Dirk Nowitzki. That's when I needed to sit down.

This argument could go all night...

To the computer!

Conclusion: Bargnani is a nice pickup for your fantasy sports team, but if you have a real NBA team, you'll be better off when he's out of the lineup. Sorry, Ry.

I think we're about to hit a new bottom... at least a new bottom for Toronto sports teams. With the Euro Cup and Olympic distractions behind us, and summer winding down, I've decided to do a quick State of the Union analysis of Toronto professional sports teams.

Toronto Blue JaysI'm sad to say I haven't followed this team much the past few weeks. Oh... I see we're dead last in the AL East, 15 games behind the Yankees. And our wild card hopes have evaporated... and half the team is on the DL. Wasn't that new wild card supposed to belong to us? Nah, we'll finish last instead.

Toronto Maple LeafsThe Leafs haven't made the playoffs since before the last labour stoppage, and now it looks like we're heading into another. We diehards don't even get to enjoy watching our team miss the playoffs again. That might be the only thing worse than the longest non-playoff streak in the league. Sad and pitiful.

Toronto RaptorsWe sucked last year, and we'll suck again this season. Every analyst and pundit has assured me of that. And really, even if a miracle of miracles occurred and we slipped into 8th place in the conference, Miami would chew us up and spit us out in 4.

Toronto ArgosFirstly, I fully acknowledge that almost none of you care about the CFL. I just checked the standings and we're 3-3. That almost sounds decent until you see in an 8-team league only one team has a worse record. That shit's cray!

Toronto FCLastly, we check in on our professional MLS soccer team. I remember getting off to a horrible start, but I've lost touch with them recently. I wonder how they're doing.... Oh... dead last in the Eastern Conference. That sounds about right.

So there you have it, a quick review of how it currently looks for Toronto sports teams. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we've found a brand new low.

I watched the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers last night. That's rather significant, because I can count the basketball games I've watched this season on one hand.

Since the Raptors arrived in 1995 this is by far the least I've followed them. For one, it was a shortened season, and I was rooting for the lockout. It was a lost season and we all knew it so why emotionally invest? I opted out.

Having said that, I've never opted out of a lost Leafs season, and there have been plenty of those. I chalk that up to the simple fact that I'm a bigger hockey fan than I am a basketball fan. Still, I'm shocked at how invisible this Raptors season was... it started and then it was over.

Heading into this season, I wanted two things. I wanted the Mavs to fizzle out because I didn't want Vince Carter winning an NBA Championship. That happened. And I'd like the Heat to lose.... just because. Here's hoping that happens in the 2nd round against the Pacers.

So that's my super late Raptors recap. We stunk, but we knew we'd stink, and we think we have a decent coach and brighter days ahead.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has sold its 79.53 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to Rogers Communications and BCE for more than $1.2 billion. BCE is fancy talk for Bell. That's right, Bell and Rogers now each own 37.5% of MLSE, which owns, among other things, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors, TFC and the Toronto Marlies.

A couple of thoughts immediately spring to mind... These partnerships between Rogers and Bell make me very nervous. We need them to hate each other, right? It can't be good for the competitive landscape, for those of us who need Internet access and mobile talk and data plans and cable tv, when these telecom behemoths keep jumping into bed together.

And what will become of Pension Plan Puppets, the go-to Leafs blog in these parts? I hope they keep the name for tradition, the way we secular folks still call this Santa holiday Christmas.

But what matters most, of course, is will this help my Leafs win the cup? Since we've already given Brian Burke autonomy and let him spend the cap, I'm thinking it won't make a difference. At least it won't hurt...

NBA players and owners tentatively agreed on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement early this morning and a 66 game season will start on Christmas Day. As a Raptors fan, I was rooting for the lockout.

This is going to be a lost season for Raptor fans. Bryan Colangelo is in the midst of another rebuild, working to have as much as $24 million in salary cap flexibility for the 2012-2013 season. That certainly won't help us during this abbreviated season.

Take a look at our current roster. Sure, we all like how DeMar DeRozan keeps getting better, but what really does Dwane Casey have to work with? What real hope is there that we squeak into the playoffs? Slim to none, and slim just caught a Greyhound to Cleveland.

At least there will be playoffs at the ACC this spring. That's right, I'm calling it. Go Leafs Go!

I can't remember the last time I wrote about the Toronto Raptors. It's been that kind of forgettable season. We're awful.

We might be awful, but tonight there's a good reason for casual fans to get excited again. Chris Bosh is back in town with his Miami Heat teammates to face the Raps at the ACC and he's going to get the Vince Carter treatment. He's getting the Vince Carter treatment because he deserves the Vince Carter treatment.

Admittedly, I defended his Raptor career when he signed with Miami and didn't see the Carter comparison right away, but I've since seen the light.

Appearing on the FAN 590, Bryan Colangelo said Bosh wasn't the same player toward the end of last year. In essence, he quit on us.

Colangelo said on Monday's show that whether Bosh was "mentally checked out or, you know, just wasn't quite into it down the stretch, he wasn't the same guy. And I think everybody saw that, just no one wanted to acknowledge it."

The Raptors suck this season. Even die-hards have to admit it. We're 1-7 and look terrible.

When your team is in the dumps, it's fun to hate on other teams. This season, I've decided to root passionately against the Miami Heat. The whole Lebron / Wade / Bosh trifecta has me angry. And Bosh... I'm glad he's struggling. He went from being the guy here in Toronto to being third fiddle in Miami. That tells you all you need to know about his character.

Bosh is facing the Raps on Saturday. It will be fun to root against #4 and his unholy Heat alliance. But first, there's a certain artist formerly known as Air Canada tonight as we face Vince Carter's Magic.